…harps on transparency and accountability
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has inaugurated the Board of the State’s Bulk Purchasing Agency with a charge on members to ensure transparency and accountability as spelt out in the blueprint for the interventionist agency.
The Board has Rt. Hon. Dan Akpan as Chairman, Hon. Unyime Etim, General Manager/Secretary, with Commissioners in the Ministries of Economic Development, Agriculture, Justice and Internal Security as members.
Other members of the committee are; the State Chairman of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Economic Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Uduakobong Inam, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Market Matters, Akparawa Idorenyin Raphael, Mrs. Affiong Ibanga representing Akwa Ibom State Chamber of Commerce, and Comrade Dominic Abang representing Labour.
Inaugurating the board at the State Executive Council Chamber, Governor Eno said the establishment of the Agency was in furtherance of his administration’s bold and compassionate intervention to avail the needy and most vulnerable in the State staple food items at no cost, considering the tough economic conditions across the nation.
He thanked the State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon Udeme Otong, for aligning with the vision of the Executive by according the Bulk Purchase Agency Bill the due importance through speedy and expeditious legislative consideration.
Governor Eno urged the committee to work closely with the Ministries of Economic Development and Agriculture, as well as liaise with food producers, distributors and stakeholders to ensure that the food voucher programme is administered judiciously, adding that they should not hesitate to acquire buffer stock to ensure that government’s intentions for the programme is met.
“We have rolled out a blueprint for this programme to be launched and how it should be managed. We expect that you follow and remain very accountable . You should be ready to be audited at anytime by any group of persons because we must ensure transparency.
“This Board is tasked with the onerous responsibility of administering our ARISE Food Security Programme scheduled to be launched next week Tuesday. This is our bold and compassionate intervention at this critical moment when the prices of our staple food items such as rice, beans and garri have soared beyond the immediate reach of the poor and most vulnerable,” the governor stated.
Governor Eno reaffirmed government’s position that the food intervention programme be administered based on the updated social register to ensure accountability, while directing the Ministry of Economic Development to reopen the social register in every village and ward in the State for continuous registration so as to accommodate more people.
“As a compassionate government, we decided to make this staple food items readily available to the needy, free of charge, through our food voucher programme. The voucher will be given to the most vulnerable through the social register and they would present them in exchange for the foodstuff at designated redemption centres at various markets and shops in all the thirty-one local government areas.
“There is no better way to manage the food distribution programme than the use of the social register, so we can be accountable and transparent,” he emphasized
The governor therefore restated his position that the food provision is just an intervention programme that will not be sustained for too long and reiterated the need for all to return to the farm for a sustainable food security in line with the Agricultural revolution aspiration of the ARISE Agenda,
He assured everyone that the government’s seedlings distribution programme through the Ministry of Agriculture will soon commence.